In a recent interview with The National, Saudi Arabia's Princess Nourah bint Mohammed Al Faisal had one recommendation for anyone visiting the country of her birth.
“I know everybody bangs on about Al Ula, but there is nowhere on Earth like it, except maybe the middle of the ocean," said the Saudi royal. "You really don’t understand how insignificant you are until you are standing there and you see how magnificent the terrain is. It puts you in your place, in a very good way.”
The historic Nabataean settlement in the country's north-west has just become more accessible to foreign visitors, following news that Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation has granted permission for international flights to land at Al Ula's Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz Airport.
The airport’s capacity has been expanded from 100,000 annual passengers to 400,000 passengers per year, according to the Saudi Press Agency. At 2.4 million square metres, the facility is also one of the biggest airports in the kingdom, and can accommodate up to 15 commercial aircraft at one time.
While Saudi Arabia has closed its borders to international visitors until Monday, May 17, it is already working on drumming up interest in its many tourist attractions. The country recently released a new video, entitled The World's Masterpiece, designed to showcase Al Ula to potential visitors.
Al Ula spans an area of more than 22,000 square kilometres. Highlights include an oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient heritage sites dating back thousands of years. It's also set to be home to three new hotels by Aman Resorts International, the luxury hoteliers' first in the Middle East.
Located about 1,100 kilometres from Riyadh, Al Ula is home to Hegra, Saudi Arabia’s first Unesco World Heritage Site and the main southern city of the Nabataean Kingdom.
Al Ula’s Old Town and Jebel Al Fil (or Elephant Rock) also feature in the cinematic campaign, which stars Saudi actress Futun Abdullah Al Jarallah.
"We are already receiving a lot of interest from international travellers excited to explore a new destination with such history, including ancient civilisations from the Dadanites to the Nabataeans and the Romans," said Melanie de Souza, executive director marketing at the Royal Commission for AlUla.
"The travel landscape has been irreversibly altered, but as travel slowly resumes, research tells us people will be looking for meaningful travel, vast open spaces and close to nature experiences. Al Ula is well-positioned in the domestic market for all of those reasons and internationally as a new and significant boutique heritage and culture destination," said de Souza.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
BMW%20M4%20Competition
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Results
Male 51kg Round 1
Dias Karmanov (KAZ) beat Mabrook Rasea (YEM) by points 2-1.
Male 54kg Round 1
Yelaman Sayassatov (KAZ) beat Chen Huang (TPE) TKO Round 1; Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) beat Fahad Anakkayi (IND) RSC Round 2; Qais Al Jamal (JOR) beat Man Long Ng (MAC) by points 3-0; Ayad Albadr (IRQ) beat Yashar Yazdani (IRI) by points 2-1.
Male 57kg Round 1
Natthawat Suzikong (THA) beat Abdallah Ondash (LBN) by points 3-0; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Ahmed Al Jubainawi (IRQ) by points 2-1; Hamed Almatari (YEM) beat Nasser Al Rugheeb (KUW) by points 3-0; Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) beat Yu Xi Chen (TPE) by points 3-0.
Men 86kg Round 1
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) beat Mohammad Al Khatib (PAL) by points 2-1
Men 63.5kg Round 1
Noureddin Samir (UAE) beat Polash Chakma (BAN) RSC Round 1.
Female 45kg quarter finals
Narges Mohammadpour (IRI) beat Yuen Wai Chan (HKG) by points.
Female 48kg quarter finals
Szi Ki Wong (HKG) beat Dimple Vaishnav (IND) RSC round 2; Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Nastaran Soori (IRI) by points; Shabnam Hussain Zada (AFG) beat Tzu Ching Lin (TPE) by points.
Female 57kg quarter finals
Nguyen Thi Nguyet (VIE) beat Anisha Shetty (IND) by points 2-1; Areeya Sahot (THA) beat Dana Al Mayyal (KUW) RSC Round 1; Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Ching Yee Tsang (HKG) by points 3-0.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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